I don't care what your reasons or excuses are, or how your dog is trained.

A story I heard today from a fellow ACO in another town:

Last night a gentleman was visiting his friend at a local condo complex, which is right next to one of the busiest roads in town. He left his female (not spayed) pit bull in the car for a few minutes while he went inside. He came out a few minutes later to find a large rock had been thrown through his rear window and his dog was gone. POOF. GONE.

There have been no reports of anyone seeing or finding this dog. Odds are VERY good she's either going straight into a fighting ring or she'll be bred for more fighting dogs.

This has become more and more common in the past few months, so DON'T take the chance with your dogs.

Never make someone a priority in your life when that someone treats you like an option.

Good reminder. SO many dogs are stolen in this area just like that. Dogs of ALL breeds. Then, they are often sold back to the owner for reward money. It has become a HUGE scam in the DFW area.

A lady was on the news last year, her long haired mini dachshund was stolen, it took her several weeks AND a 100 mile trip plus over $1000 to get her dog back. She had offered a reward of $500 or so but the thieves demanded more. It was basically a ransom demand. And it happens a lot

There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.

Connor is crated in the back of my truck right now and I'm at work. The crate is secured with a cable lock and the lock is inside the crate. He's alone. I've had people ask me if I'm afraid of him being stolen. I say "Go ahead and try. You'll need a snare pole and lighting reflexes. And I get to film it."

Now, for 99.99999% of dog owners, leaving the dog alone is a very, VERY bad idea, especially if the dog is a Pit. Just don't do it.

Demo Dick

"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge

Marinepits wrote:I'd almost agree with you, Demo, but all it takes is for someone to steal your truck. Then they can take all the time in the world to try and get Connor out of the crate.

LOL. Have you SEEN what I drive?

I'm aware it could happen, but frankly that's a risk I'm willing to take. I could "what if" myself to death on this, but remember, I don't think of him as a pet. Most people would probably get between their dog and something dangerous. Connor gets between ME and the source of danger. So it's a fundamentally different relationship than what most people are used to. I will take risks with him that I wouldn't take with a pet.

I'm guessing Connor is as fond of "strangers" as Mick???

He's actually very friendly and social with strangers. Just not ones that try to mess with "his" truck or crate, or try to push him around. I've reinforced those behaviors on purpose specifically because I don't want him to get stolen.

Demo Dick

"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge

Yeah, if I had a friendly dog(in the car, anyway) or often parked in sketchy places I wouldn't do it. As it is, my dog is quite territorial in my vehicle and I generally do not leave him in "high crime" or sketchy places, nor is it common for dogs to be stolen where I live. If it were common for dogs to be stolen, then I would rethink leaving him in a car.

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

I've noticed at agility trials, tracking events, flyball ect..., people leave their dogs in their cars with the doors open and the hatches (if they have them on the vehicle) wide open with the dog exposed. I can't fathom doing that with one of my guys.

maberi wrote:I've noticed at agility trials, tracking events, flyball ect..., people leave their dogs in their cars with the doors open and the hatches (if they have them on the vehicle) wide open with the dog exposed. I can't fathom doing that with one of my guys.

Yeah I saw that at the tracking seminar last April. Dog in crate, door wide open, cars all parked in main lot, and people WAY off in the field. I would never leave my dog crated out of sight like that. I'm too paranoid. I rarely leave her in car at all, just sometimes at night on way home from class if i need to stop for milk or something, I figure the car is dark and no one is going to see her sleeping in her crate. Or even see the crate for that matter.

Patch doesn't get put in a crate while in the car, because he's too big and there's no room for one. He gets harnessed in, so he isn't free to roam about. I left him in the car the other day for like 2 minutes, while I went inside to get my check and back out. He would eat the car if left alone too long.

Plus, if someone did try and take him, he's an ass and refuses to get out of the car once he's already been harnessed in.

A. No person owning or otherwise having possession, charge, custody, dominion or control of an animal shall place or confine such animal or allow it to be placed or confined or to remain in an unattended motor vehicle without sufficient ventilation or under other conditions or for such a period of time as may endanger the health or well-being of such animal due to heat, lack of water or such other circumstances as may reasonable be expected to cause suffering, disability or death.

B. No person owning or otherwise having possession, dominion or control over a motor vehicle shall place or confine an animal or permit an animal to be placed or confined or to remain in an unattended motor vehicle without sufficient ventilation or under other conditions or for such a period of time as may endanger the health or well-being of such animal due to heat, lack of water or such other circumstances as may reasonable be expected to cause suffering, disability or death.

Bunny is a territorial asshat who goes batsh!t nuts if anyone touches "her car", and generally hates people anyway. Though not a pit (she's a boxer), she has had people express interest in her before. She generally meets it with angry douchebaggery.

She has bitten someone who put their hand INSIDE my car THROUGH the window - a complete stranger, who I didn't know, didn't see, and obviously, did not give permission to. He re-evaluated his course of action very, very quickly.

She'd have to be killed to be removed from my vehicle.

That being said, I don't leave her inside my car where I can't see her, and never for more than 4 or 5 minutes at a time. Only if I'm quickly running inside somewhere where she's not far, and the front of the building is glass, and I can keep an eye on her. I don't let her out of my eye sight. Ever.

My dogs stay in the van often...crated usually...and it's hard to see into the van (tinted windows, and it's tall).

Inara will bite anyone who tries to take her...I'm sure of it. She's a crazy bitch.

Xander sits loose in the front seats, and will protect the van with his life...he won't let friends into the van. He's driven off people trying to get in before (because of the specialized accessible door, we can tell when someone's tried to get in). It'd be hard to get in to steal the van with him loose in it. He's a mushball therapy dog when not protecting his van...

And yes, we regularly leave the dogs in the van during dog events...such as flyball. When crating space is limited (like the FnF tourney)...there is often no choice in the matter. Besides, what's the difference between crating them in a separate building with people walking around, and crating them in the car? If someone is going to steal them from a tournament...it's just as easy to take them from a crate in a building or from the car.

"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw